If your child threw up on the carpet in the middle of the night...

[TheBrilloPad]

Do you;

a) throw a towel over the pile of sick and deal with it at a reasonable hour

Or

B) get cleaning equipment up and clean up sick there and then?

For honesty's sake - I did A. 4yr old DD threw up in her bed at 2am last night, got out of bed to get me and threw up on the carpet, and then threw up again on the hallway carpet. I changed her bedding and put her back to bed, and put towels over the two vomit piles in her bedroom and the hallway, to deal with in the morning. She shares a bedroom with her 3yr old brother who was asleep and cleaning it all up at 2am, therefore keeping them awake longer, seemed like an insane idea.

We all woke at 8am, I text ExH to keep him in the loop that DD was unwell and I took them downstairs. Gave 3yr old breakfast, and fed 4month old baby. Had to do three loads of washing (she was sick again on the new fresh bedding at 4am too), and then ExH turned up at 10am with a load of toys from the toy shop (Disney dad), as I was coming downstairs with the carpet cleaner and bucket of zoflora etc etc. I answered the door and said "sorry - was just cleaning all the sick off the carpets", and he said "oh, has she just been sick again then ?" And I said "no, from last night". And he was DISGUSTED that I left the vomit there overnight. (From a man who has never cleaned/cooked/used a washing machine in his life ).

So my instinct was that he's just being a dick. I'm a single parent of 3 kids under 5, none of who slept well last night, I dealt with it as best I could. But now I'm doubting myself - would you/should I have cleaned it up there and then? FWIW it took me over 30mins this morning to do, that seems insane to do at 2am!

I got to say OP, a 4 month old and two young kids is a killer at the best of times. You deserve a medal for getting through the night let alone anything else!

Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do to survive. I would usually get the thick up, throw a towel over and deal with it in the morning.

We had our bathroom painted (in preparation for it going on the market) and the very next day DS was sick. He tried to get to the toilet but didn't and instead pepper sprayed my new walls.

The joys of kids.

OP you're a hero, you've got a lot on your plate - I think you did a great job.

What I would have done would depend on -

• how tired I was
• how much I cared about the carpet
• what kind of sick it was (some vomit is smellier/likely to stain than others, no?)

I was thinking secret option c, which is get DH to deal with it, while I dealt with the kids, or better yet, DH deal with the kids while I deal with the carpet. But if you're on your own with 3 kids, one of whom is going through the 4 month sleep regression, I really think all bets are off. This is why i hate carpets, though. I love a wipe-clean floor, me. (I do realise that's not helpful, sorry!)

I would have cleaned it - but in your situation with a baby as well and on your own who on earth can judge you?! Life sounds bloody hard!

I would have left it to look after a sick DC but I know my DH would have sorted it. Your ExH is being a dick. Give yourself a break,looking after sick kids is hard work and you're on your own with them.

You did what you could to cope with the situation. It's not like you left your dd in vomit covered bedding and clothes. No judgement here. Your ex is an arse. Hope little one is feeling better.

I would have given it a quick clean at the time and done it properly in the morning. I couldn’t leave it to fester on the carpet.

I’d have got DC sorted and back in bed and then cleaned up, I wouldn’t have left it overnight.

Id have cleaned it during the night. I couldnt leave piles of sick overnight especially in a bedroom. The smell must have been horrendous this morning

Firstly your Ex-H has absolutely no right to judge you whatsoever. Nobody has a right to judge people when they are not living in that situation .

That said I would have had to have cleaned it as I couldn't stand the smell in the house. If I had a 4 year old that is - if my 17 year old threw up in the middle of the carpet I'd make him do it!

When DH was deployed to the middle east, ds was the sickest he had ever been. He was in bed with me as he felt ill and woke up with uncontrollable diarrhoea. I was thinking how to get him to the bathroom without making a mess (I am no poo troll so won't describe but it was everywhere and rapidly leaking/spreading) when he projectile vomited all over me, himself, the bed, floor, wall and cat . I didn't know how/where to start.

Anyway, having faced that at 3am with a fear of vomit, I'd say I can face cleaning up every time. I have systems in place and run a tight ship when it happens. Cleaning happens immediately.

Still don't judge you though!

I have systems in place and run a tight ship when it happens. Cleaning happens immediately.

Is anyone else intrigued about the systems in place? I love systems in place!

(children witnessed Ex's domestic violence)

For this alone, he loses all rights to make judgements about anything you do, ever.

@Showofhands please share the system so I can copy!!!

When this happened to me I was very lucky it was a cheap rug which I binned..today there was a poo explosion in my lounge and I waited to clean until dd bathed and dressed.

Childrens rooms had rugs not carpet. My husband would have thrown the rug away and disinfected the floor underneath there and then. I’d have bathed the child and changed their pjs.
We’d get a new rug the next day. I can’t abide the smell of lingering vomit. It starts everyone off.

I would have clean it at the time and then gone over it again in the morning. Leaving it there all night makes me feel a bit ill.
But you have a sick child and a young baby 🤷 so I can see why you might leave it

I'm not a single parent but husband does work away for days and days on end, so vomit night duty is usually down to me. I tend to clean everything then and there, simply because I'm an utter clutz when I'm sleep deprived and would've stood right in it later on. You're a tired single parent of three very young children - you did what you had to to survive that night, no one was hurt because of it, no harm came to anyone, all was fine (well, aside from the vomming of course).

DH would have dealt with the sick 🤮

YANBU getting some sleep to cope with 3 DC one of which is vomiting is the priority!

I'd have done it during the night due to the smell, that must have been vile by 10am (8hours really?).

It's utterly none of his business but it is pretty grim.

I’d be a bit disgusted too. I speak from experience. DH is the kind to leave it to deal with at a ‘reasonable’ hour (hint, the only reasonable time to do it is immediately) and then forget about it. Quite frankly our very young children are more useful than him in this respect.

I don't know what I would have done at 2am in the morning whilst trying to comfort a poorly DC and your ex sounds like he is in no position to judge you.

Tbh I probably would of just cried. Ds16 projectile vomited in his room a few months ago, he's door was open at the time and I looked in and just stood with my mouth open! It was everywhere all over the wall/bed/clothes/ new carpet I just burst out crying because I just didn't know where to start 🙈 for good luck my eldest was awake and she helped me get buckets of soapy/disinfectant water and bin bag. I bagged everything up and threw it out the back door because the smell was making me heave 🤢 did the best I could at 2am and finished it off the next morning. Thinking about it in your situation I probably would of cleaned of it and left it til morning, it's hard when your on your own.

Op I had this just before Xmas my youngest 8 threw up over the side of his bed (he's on the top bunk) I left him over the toilet while I i did a quick clean of the carpet (and any other splatters I could see) so ds1 could go back to sleep and cleaned it properly in the morning.

Having been a single parent myself I can completly understand why you left it.
Agree with a pp use what he said and turn it round "nice to know next time at 2am I can count on your help"
He's a nob. You cleaned it up as soon as you could. No judgement from me except to your xdp